FRANCISTOWN: The District Commissioner's grant officer, Reginah Dema, says the results of the Botswana National HIV/AIDS Prevention Support Project (BNAPS) survey has indicated that Francistown is the most affected by the HIV/AIDS infection.

Friend3 Name:Email:Anti-Spam *Type this CASE SENSITIVE anti-spam security code into the field below

Dema said this at the private sector meeting of HIV Project Dissemination of Baseline findings for Francistown District, which was held at Marang Gardens on Friday.The Botswana Business Coalition on AIDS (BBCA) carried out the project in partnership with the Light and Courage Centre in achieving the mission of Zero Infection by 2016.Dema said Francistown is used by travellers from neighbouring countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa thus spreading the HIV/AIDS virus across the countries."There are lots of sex workers who spread the virus because men choose whether to use condom or not, depending on the prices they pay. "There are many mines near the city and people who live there are mostly affected by the virus," she said.

She added that the statistics of the project have shown that the virus is still increasing and female youth are the ones most affected

by the virus. "Youth are the ones most affected by the virus at 53.5 percent and amongst them, females comprise 44.1 percent of those affected, which is a concern, " she said.Dema said there are 12 civil societies in Francistown, piloted to help fight the spread of the virus. "We have targeted interventions like those dealing with males or females only, and those dealing with targeted age groups. We encourage community convections so that people can be free to discuss pressing issues with their contemporaries," she explained.The Programme Manager of Botswana Business Coalition on AIDS (BBCA) Frank Phatshwane said they are working hard to ensure reduction in the spread of the virus in Francistown. "We urge private companies to encourage their employees to go for male circumcision, because it has proven to be the best HIV/AIDS prevention measure," said Phatshwane.